Always: The Second Chance of Severus Snape
by Rinna-Girl
Summary: Severus Snape died wanting to redo his life, fix his mistakes. Now he has that chance. Sev/ Lily, James/OC pairings. Please give it a chance! Multi-chapter fic. Please read! On Semi-Permanent HIATUS
1. The End of the Beginning

A/N: Ok so this is sort of a prologue to the real story. I promise it will get better after this! This will be a multi chapter fic so add it to your alerts if you're interested. The chapters will get longer later on.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter_, but...I would love too! _

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><p><em>He had failed…..She was gone. His beautiful flower had wilted and died while he stood there wishing with all his heart that there was something he could do to save her. On that night, as he held his beautiful Lily in his arms, the unbanishable feeling of failure engulfed him. The only real self-assigned purpose he had in his life….was gone. On that night Severus Snape died.<em>

Severus Snape, in the eyes of everyone but himself, was actually quite successful in his "mission".

He had done exactly as Dumbledore asked. He had protected the Boy Who Lived. He had protected the key to the Dark Lord's downfall for many years. The product of his "success" knelt beside him trying to staunch the bleeding from one of Nagini's fatal bites with his hand to no avail. He was in a tremendous amount of pain at the moment. Yet his mind was neither on the pain, nor his death which loomed only moments away, they were on the same person who had claimed his thoughts since he was a mere boy of eleven…on his beautiful Lily.

How he yearned for her to be here with him right now! How he yearned for her touch, her hair, her eyes….Her eyes! While young Harry Potter had earned nearly ninety nine percent of his being from his arrogant prat of a father, he had not however, inherited his eyes. His eyes were the green orbs of his mother…..the eyes of Lily.

It was then he decided what his dying wish would be…to look into her eyes once more.

"_Look at me," _he rasped. Blazing green met inky black. "_You have your mother's eyes."_

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><p>Many pity the death of the man known as Severus Snape,but there was no need….for he died looking into the eyes of his beautiful Lily.<p>

You may be saddened by the ending of Professor Severus Snape's life, but remember...The end of one thing is the beginning of another.

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><p>Another Author's Note!<p>

So I figure this is as good a time as any to tell you more about what to expect later in the story.

There will be Lily/Sev, Sev/OC friendship, and James/OC.

The reason I started the story with Snape dying it this...I wanted Harry Potter's story to have already been told before this takes place, but in order to do that Snape had to die. So Voldemort is defeated for the rest of the story like he never existed...got it? OK!

So anyway thanks for reading this far!Please review!I need support!I also need to know if anyone really even wants me to write more!


	2. Angel

A/N: So sorry that this one was so short! I PROMISE the next chapter will be longer! Like I said before, these are just the starter chapters! The real plot will happen a bit later as soon as I sort out a few details! Ok? Please be patient with me!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harry Potter! Unless you would like to make an offer JK Rowling? I'd be happy to take this little **million dollar** series _off you hands_ for you!

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><p><strong>Angel<strong>

The world went pitch black for a moment before Severus was dazzled with brilliant white light. The light bathed him in warmth and comfort…_Like being near Lily,_ he thought. It took him a moment before he realized he was clean. Not just clean of dirt and blood, but also of his wounds entirely. There wasn't a scratch on him! His hair was no longer greasy, but clean and soft. He was dressed in silky, dark green robes that billowed behind him as if caught in a permanent breeze. He looked around taking in his surroundings. He was standing at the edge of a strangely familiar place….the playground. The place he met his Lily…his angel.

It was then that he noticed a patch of wildflowers, swaying in the slight breeze, near one of the swing's support poles. He found, upon a closer inspection, that they were pure white lilies. As he watched, the petals began to move! Opening and closing, seemingly, of their own accord! Like magic….

It was then that he saw her. Her unmistakable auburn locks burning a hole in the pure white scene. She had appeared while he was examining the flower and was perched serenely on one of the two swings.

Severus was torn…part of him wanted to run to her, hold her, tell her how sorry her was, and declare his pure, unrequited love for her right there and then! The other part of him, however, reminded him what he had said to her and how, even in death, she would probably still be furious with him. This blend of emotions and thoughts kept him rooted to the spot. All he could do was stand there and stare at her, as she gazed at what appeared to be a small dragonfly, flitting towards her.

The dragonfly landed softly on her petite finger. Slowly she turned towards him, her eyes still fixed on the dragonfly. She blew gently on it and it flitted in his direction.

He reached out his hand, allowing the small creature to rest upon his finger as it had done with Lily. He brought his finger up, leveled with his gaze. What he observed was not in fact a dragonfly at all…it was a simple, thin leaf that had been enchanted to fly.

The last time he had seen magic like this was when he and Lily had be mere children. It had been the first magic he had showed her. The proof he had given her that he was a wizard, and she witch. Right after she had made the petals on the flower move….

He lowered his hand and stared at the ground for a moment. "_Sev_," she spoke quietly. He wasn't sure if it was a question or simply a confirmation of his presence. He lifted his inky gaze to her dazzling emerald orbs. "_Lily,"_ he whispered. She rose from the swing leaving it swaying lightly. She walked….no she _floated… _(Lily's gait was to perfect for just walking) towards him. She paused one heart-stopping breath away from him. He felt like he might explode from all the emotions that had filled him, tangling and clawing at each other inside of him. And then….

She hugged him. "_I've missed you Sev,"_ she whispered.

"_I've missed you too Lils."_

"_Oh Lily, I..I…I wish I had never hurt you like I did." _His eyes leaked with pent up tears._ "I wish I could do it all over again! It would have been different! I would never ever have said what I said! Oh how I wish I could do it all over again!" _He sobbed into her hair and she held him while he cried.

A new voice spoke…_"Perhaps you can Severus, perhaps you can…."_

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><p><strong><em>OOOOOOO A CLIFFY! Aren't I mean!<em>**

**_I'm pretty sure I already apologized at the to for this being so short..sooo..._**

_**oh yes! Thank you SOSOSOSOSOSOSOSOSOSOSOSO SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much for the lovely reviews! And all the story alerts and favorite alerts too!**_

_**Despite the lovely reviews I would always LOVE to have MORE OF THEM! (wink wink ;-)) PLEASE!**_

_Oh and feel free to check out the poll on my profile too!_

_If there are any IDEAS that you would like to send me, suggestions for the story, the plot...blah blah blah Please don't hesitate! In fact I would really appreciate that! Thanx!_

_(This is the conclusion of my Authors Note) OH WAIT I FORGOT...Just kidding.  
><em>


	3. The Second Chance

A/N: Ok so I tried to make this chapter longer! Sorry that it took so long to get it posted! I tried to move the story along a bit more.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I STILL don't own Harry Potter!

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><p>Severus turned towards the voice, letting go of Lily but not moving from her side. He found himself face to face with none other than Albus Percival Wolfric Brian Dumbledore.<p>

_"Albus,"_ he spoke to his old friend. Albus Dumbledore was one of the few people Severus Snape had ever trusted, so he was rather relieved to see him at the moment. In fact, he would have been quite furious at anyone else for daring to interrupt his reunion with Lily. But he could not bring himself to be angry at this man who had done so much for him.

_"Severus, I would say good to see you, but as you have just died, I wouldn't want to insult you by insinuating that your death is by any means a good thing."_ The Headmaster spoke, his eyes twinkling. Severus managed a small smile at the joke before he spoke again.

_"Headmaster, what did you mean by what you said earlier? About me possibly being able to do everything over again?"_

_"Well Severus, will you take a walk with me so I may explain?"_ Albus asked.

_"Well….,"_ Severus glanced at Lily, still standing by his side. He was truthfully filled with the childish fear that if he walked away from her, he would never see her again.

As if she had read his mind, Lily stepped in front of him and put her hands on his shoulders. She looked deep into his eyes, piercing the dark targets with emerald arrows. _"I'll be right here when you get back Sev. I promise."_ Severus nodded hesitantly, and took a step towards the Headmaster.

Lily smiled at his figure, fading into the distance. She had missed her best friend.

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><p>Severus glided along beside the Headmaster, eyes darting back and forth, up and down, studying his pristine surroundings. The pair approached a bench facing the path they had just taken. Dumbledore gestured to the bench, and the potions master sat. Albus followed suit.<p>

_"Severus…,"_ Dumbledore began. _"You have had a hard life. You have struggled to do what is right for those you care about. I must thank you for all you have done for me personally. I believe you deserve some sort of reward for all you have done. So, I am prepared to give you a second chance at your life."_ Severus had been listening intently to the man for the last few moments, nodding his head every so often to show he was listening. At Dumbledore's last statement his head snapped to face the man.

_"How?"_ he asked._ "Well Severus, it seems that there isn't much I can do about you pre-Hogwarts years, so we will let them be. However, your Hogwarts years brought many choices for you. It is my firm belief that you would have made different choices if you had a bit less stress on you, and if your company had been slightly different."_

Severus studied the ground. _"You mean my fellow Slytherins, don't you Headmaster?"_ he spoke quietly.

Albus nodded. _"It wasn't necessarily their faults either, Severus. I believe that Voldemort's promises of power held powerful sway over them. But now, Voldemort is gone."_

_"I don't understand Sir."_ Severus stated, thoroughly confused.

_"People like you, Severus, who believed so strongly in love, and acted upon that love, can return to the past to relive their lives. Vodemort, who knew no love at all, cannot return to anytime in any shape or form. He has been permanently destroyed."_ Albus was once again proving that love is the most powerful magic of all.

_"What effect would that have on Lucius and the others if I were to go back?"_ Severus asked.

_"Well, it would be as though Voldemort never existed. There would be no Death Eaters, Severus. Your 'friends' would be little more than Slytherin bullies."_

Understanding dawned on Severus's face as he took in the former Headmaster's last statements.

_"So what point in my Hogwarts years would I be taken to?"_ Severus queried.

_"To the very beginning."_ The old man replied, his eyes twinkling._ "A few things will be adjusted such as your desire to be in any particular house. You will be neutral in this decision. You will only want to be with your friends."_ Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling brighter. Severus blushed slightly, understanding what the man was insinuating.

_"Very well Headmaster, I wish to try this."_ Severus decided.

_"There is one more thing that you will need to know Severus."_

_"Yes?"_

_"You will not remember the life you have lived already. You will not remember your mistakes from before. You must rely on good sense and your heart to make the right decisions. You are not being sent to a world where everything will be perfect all the time, Severus. You will make new mistakes and learn from them. You will however get some sense of Déjà vu occasionally. You also will probably have some dreams that are reminders of your past. This is your mind working to try and help you to not make the same mistakes again. Do you understand?"_

_"Yes Albus, I understand."_ Severus said, letting this new information soak in.

_"Well then, I guess it would be best to rejoin Lily and inform her of you decision."_ The twinkle returned to his eye.

Severus nodded and they set off towards the playground.

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><p>When they arrived, Lily was perched upon the swing, humming softly. Severus froze for a moment watching her. He was thrilled to have her back again. He smiled to himself. The all-seeing Dumbledore noticed his expression, his eyes twinkled again.<p>

_"Miss Evans?"_ Dumbledore spoke. Severus's heart leapt. _Miss __**Evans **__not Mrs. __**Potter**__,_ he thought happily.

_"Yes Albus?_" she replied in her musical voice.

_"Severus has decided to return."_ Her eyes lit up as she grinned at him.

_"Congratulations Sev!"_ She cried, obviously excited.

_"Are you ready to go now Severus?"_ Albus asked.

_"Yes, Headmaster. I am ready."_ He replied, not once taking his eyes off Lily.

Then, the trio left the playground.

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><p>Moments later, they arrived at their destination. They stood in a small patch of woods. It was light but cool in the shaded patch of trees. In the center of the clearing where they stood was a stone archway. Vines scaled the two pillars supporting the top of the archway. Carved into the stone were odd markings. Upon closer inspection, they appeared to be runes. Lily, who had always been decent at Ancient Runes, began to decipher them.<p>

_"T-H-E, the. That one is an S I believe. And that one matches the E from before. So S-E, ummm oh! That one is a C. S-E-C, that one is an O, followed by an N then perhaps that one is a D."_ She continued to decipher each letter, writing them in the air with her wand as she went along._ "So the first word is 'the' and the next word is 'second.' The last one is C-H-A-N-C-E. Oh! Chance!"_ She smiled, quite proud of her translating.

_"The Second Chance,"_ Severus repeated. _"My Second Chance."_

The three stepped up to the stone archway. Severus shook hands with his old friend, before Lily grabbed him up in a heartfelt hug. He hugged her fiercely. She pulled back. He gave her a longing look.

_"Hey Sev, don't worry. I'll see you soon!"_ With that she quickly kissed his cheek and stepped back.

Then, Severus stepped through the archway and disappeared from sight.

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><p>AN: SOOOOOOO, What'd y'all think? You can tell me in a **_REVIEW_**!

If antone was wondering why Dumbledore called Lily Miss Evans not Mrs Potter, it is because this is Snape's heaven, Snape's "Happy Place and it wouldn't make him very happy if she was Mrs. Potter.

So anyway, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! Please! Just a little "Nice Job" or just "Nice" is nice job is too long! Or itf you don't like it you could just put "Job"! Just put SOMETHING **_PLEASE_**! Thanx to all you guys who have already reviewed! You guys **_ROCK_**!


	4. A New Beginning

A/N: OK, first of all, I am soooooooo sorry that this took forever to update! I am terrible! I know! And its short too! Ugh, I am disgusted with myself! Ok, I PROMISE WILL TRY TO UPDATE MORE OFTEN! but, I won't be updating for at least a week because I am going on vacation tomorrow. SORRY!

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter!

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><p>Severus felt the familiar feeling of being twisted around and pulled through time and space that is usually associated with Apparating. He had obviously Apparated before now, but somehow this was different. This felt like all of him was being squished into some sort of mold…a mold shaped like an eleven year old. And then…<p>

SMACK!

Severus lay face down in the grass after a rather rough landing. He stayed there for a moment letting his head clear and his stomach settle. When he decided he was ok, he sat up and peered at the landscape around him. He appeared to be sitting on the bank of a stream. Then he remembered, this was where he sat the day he went to Hogwarts. He had waited for Lily here. They were going to ride to the station together.

He stood up shakily and noticed his old trunk sitting in the grass. He walked, a little unsteady at first, towards the trunk. He dropped to his knees, undid the latches and opened it. Inside the trunk were all his belongings, he possessed very few so there was still space in the trunk. He recalled a spell he had learned from Professor McGonagall. "_Lorem__ipsum__," _he murmured, waving his wand over the trunk's contents. Immediately, the clothes began to change. They shrank down to the size that would actually fit his eleven year figure. He did the same to the clothes he was wearing. He also realized how dirty the clothes were and fixed that with another spell. Looking at his reflection in the stream, he adjusted himself as best he could, hoping he would look nice for Lily. He cast scourgify on his hair, getting the grease out.

When he was satisfied that he was presentable enough to see Lily, he seated himself on the bank to wait for her. Suddenly, his head began to spin, he saw stars and then…he blacked out.

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><p>"Sev…Sev can you hear me?" Someone was gripping his shoulders, shaking him gently. Red hair hung around him. Wait a minute…<em>Red hair….LILY!<em>

And it was. An eleven year old Lily hovered over closely him. Very, _very_ close.

"Uhhh...," he mumbled.

_Wow, that's some complex wording you got going on there!_

_Who are you?_

_Your conscience. Nice to meet you!_

_Would you shut up and go away now?_

_Humph! Not very friendly, are you?_

_IGNORING!_

While Sev was having a lovely chat inside his head with his conscience, Lily was still staring down at him.

"Uh…Sev, if you don't get up off the ground we're going to miss the train. And I am NOT going to miss the train to my first year at Hogwarts." Lily spoke, interrupting his thoughts.

"Wait, what?" He murmured.

"The TRAIN." Lily repeated. "You know to Hogwarts…We have to go now, my parents are waiting for us by the car."

"Oh, aright, I just have to get my trunk." Sev replied, slowly getting off the ground. His head throbbed, and hard as he tried, he couldn't remember what he had done that morning. He gazed around at his surroundings, hoping for some clue as to what had happened.

_Well, my trunk is here. And Lily woke me up by the tree. I guess I came to wait for her and dozed off. _

Happy with his reasoning, he grabbed his trunk and set off striding after Lily.

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><p>Sev led Lily and her parents through the crowds of King's Cross Station. He halted in front of the wall in between platforms nine and ten. Severus's mother had told him about how to get onto the platform before so he knew what he was supposed to do. He had explained to Lily what to do as well, and hoped that she had told her parents.<p>

"I suppose I'll go first then." Lily said. Excitement and slight nervousness was apparent in her voice. Sev nodded. Lily took her place a few feet back from the wall, took a deep breath and charged. Sev felt himself wince slightly when she made contact with the wall, but she simply slid through. After Lily vanished, her parents offered to go next. After they were through, Severus knew it was his turn.

_Ok, ok deep breath. One…two…..three….GO! _He charged at the wall running full speed. He held his breath and shut his eyes waiting for the impact that never came. It went dark for a moment and then….light! He slowly opened one eye, then the next. They immediately went wide with wonder as he took in the platform. The _Hogwarts Express_ sat in all its shiny, red, glory; patiently waiting to leave. It was magnificent!

Lily waved him over. She led him to where they left their trunks to be loaded. After dropping off their trunks, they returned to her parents. The train whistle sounded the All Aboard. Lily said goodbye to her parents, grabbed Sev's hand and dragged them towards the train. They boarded and tuned to look out a nearby window. Lily and Sev waved wildly as the _Hogwarts Express_ chugged rapidly out of the station and out of sight.

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><p>AN: Ok so for those of you who are really confused. At the beginning of the chapter, he retained his memory for few minutes. After he blacked out, he forgot everything.

Italics will normally be used for things that Sev is thinking. OK? There will be some other Italics here and there but it will be obvious that they aren't thoughts.

Scourgify is a cleaning spell.

_Lorem__ipsum _is Lorem ipsum which is latin for change size. OK? Yes, I looked that up, no I don't speak Latin. I do however speak Pig Latin! ha ha

_Ok so as I said before, don't expect another update for AT LEAST a week! I'm so so so so so sorry about that! Though I might have time to write a new chap while riding in the car for 12 hours!_

_PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! Luvs to all of you that already did! And luvs to the people who Faved and Alerted my story!  
><em>


	5. We have Arrived!

A/N: I'm BAAAAAACK! I'm am sorry that I haven't updated in forever! I've been so busy! And I wanted to make this chapter good. I have resolved that my chapters will never be really long ones. They will all be about this length, but the updates will be more often. One more thing, It isn't entirely my fault that this didn't go up sooner. I need encouragement and evaluation of this story if I am going to write any more. If I don't get reviews, you don't get updates. FAIR ENOUGH? So please review! It means a lot to me, really! Promise me that if you are following this story that you will leave a review, It doesn't have to be extravagant! Just something short! Please! NO REVIEWS, NO UPDATES! I **_will_** stop writing if I get nothing.

DISCLAIMER: JKR owns HP! I'm but a humble fan!

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><p>Forests of lush, green trees, fields of vibrantly colored wildflowers, swells of sapphire rivers and lakes all sped past in a rainbow blur. Severus stared out the window of the Hogwarts Express with intense fascination. Where he came from, his home, his town, seemed so grey and dull in comparison to the vision before him. Everything except for Lily. Lily was bright, fiery, so full of color and light.<p>

Severus had never been on a train before. His family could not afford it. His mother had once taken him to a station so he could see the beautiful locomotives. He had loved trains at the time and had gone wild with excitement. When he had stood before the Hogwarts Express at the station not but a few hours ago, he had felt like he was six years old again. Like the first time he had been to that station. He was even more excited about what was to come. A head poked into their compartment, startling Severus out of his reverie.

The boy had a head full of tousled, jet black hair. He had bright, mischievous, hazel eyes that were currently studying Sev and Lily. He was obviously their same age. You could tell, if not from his size then from the lingering expression of excitement hovering around him. It was everywhere, that excited and slightly nervous feeling of anticipation. It had formed a cloud around all the young first years heading to Hogwarts for the first time. Then he spoke, "You two should probably change into your robes. We're going to be there soon." "Oh! We're that close?" Lily exclaimed. "Yeah! About fifteen minutes I think." He paused. "I'm James by the way. James Potter." Lily gave him a friendly smile, "I'm Lily. Lily Evans. And this is my best friend, Severus Snape." She gestured to Severus. He managed a small smile and shook the hand James had extended towards him. "Well, I've got to go. See you guys later!" With that he turned and ran off to find his friends. "He seems nice." Lily commented offhandedly. Suddenly, Severus felt a surge of jealousy and James Potter's rating on his personal scale dropped just a bit.

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><p>He and Lily separated to change and met back in the compartment just as the train's whistle sounded. They grabbed their things and rushed into the hall. They probably should have waited a bit because at the precise moment they stepped into the hall happened to be the precise moment that the stampede of other eager first years charged past. Sev and Lily were sucked into the crowd. Sev looked frantically around for Lily, searching for that fiery hair. He jumped slightly when someone grabbed his hand. He whirled around coming face to face with Lily. Lily unceremoniously dragged him through the throngs of students until they reached the platform.<p>

Lily was now lost. She had come to a screeching halt as soon as they were off the train. Severus gently pulled her out of the steady stream of people pouring onto the platform. They watched the older students as they walked towards the edge of the platform. Sev considered following them, as they seemed to know where to go, but Lily tugged him away. She pulled him towards a girl, several years older than them. The girl was ushering a group of other first years towards the other end of the platform. The pair hurried after the group. The girl, a fifth year prefect named Madison, led the group to the docks at the edge of the lake.

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><p>They were the last ones in the group to make it to the docks. Another group of first year was being picked out from the still swarming platform by another prefect. That group would go in another set of boats. Since they were last, they got one boat all to themselves. Severus climbed into the boat helping Lily in after him. She tripped as she was climbing in and lost her balance. She pitched forward landing squarely on Sev. The force of her weight knocked him backwards and onto the floor of the boat. She was on top of him; they were practically nose to nose. Severus blushed and prayed that the darkness would hide it. "Sorry Sev!" Lily exclaimed, scrambling to get off of him. Severus cleared his throat, "Its fine. Are you ok?" "Oh yes! I'm fine!" She said, grinning at him. They situated themselves on the seats and the noticed they were already a ways away from shore. The boat had been rowing itself. Their boat quickly started to close the distance between the rest of their group's boats.<p>

Sev looked at Lily, thinking of how close she had been a moment ago. So close that he could have just leaned forward a bit and….NO, no, no, no! Lily was his best friend! He would not allow the thought to go through his head! He was startled out of his thoughts by Lily! She grabbed his sleeve and bounced up and down excitedly, rocking the boat with each movement. She pointed behind him. "Oh Severus look!" she cried her eyes wide with excitement. He slowly tuned his head and understood why she was so excited…

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><p>I put pretty much everything in my other author's note, so if you skipped it go back to the top and read it!<p>

Luvs only go to the people that review! If you do, then LUVS GO TO YOU!


	6. The Sorting

A/N: Hi everybody! Long time no see! I'm sorry that I haven't updated in like a month. Here is my excuse: So first I was really tired from my trip to Florida, then we were hit by Hurricane Irene which knocked out our power (and internet) for like a week, then I had to do Summer reading for school, then it was my first week of High School so I got tons of Homework and blah, blah, blah... Anyhoo! So enjoy the chapter! And please leave a review so I know you guys like the story...

Disclaimer: Haven't we gone over this already?

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><p>Hogwarts Castle loomed magnificently before him. Its dark stone walls rose majestically from the ground. Tall towers and twisting, slender spires punched holes in the clouds with their needle-like points. The highest points seemed to scrape the glimmering stars. A rush of emotions came over the two children. Awe, wonder, and shock at the sheer enormity of it all. The pair continued to stare, seemingly in a trance, as the small boat slid into the shadow of the mighty school. They were snapped out of the trance when their boat bumped the edge of the dock. The prefect, Madison, helped them onto the dock. She smirked at their dazed expressions. "Enjoying the view?" She laughed lightly when they could only nod. She gently guided the pair in the direction they needed to go before turning to help the next group of boats filled with more dazzled first years.<p>

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><p>Moments later, Lily and Sev were whisked away by a strict looking woman wearing deep green robes and a tall pointed hat. She led their group through several winding corridors until they stood in front of two large, wooden doors. "Now in just a moment, you will pass through these doors into the Great Hall. There, you will be sorted into your houses. I am Minerva McGonogall, Head of Gryffindor House. The other houses are Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin." As soon as she finished speaking, the enormous oak doors swung open to reveal a rather intimidating crowd of older students sitting at the four large tables. A wave of nervous whispering rippled through the first years. The group stood in awe of their new surroundings. Severus was awakened from his own trance by Lily who was tugging excitedly on his sleeve pointing frantically towards the ceiling. He looked up, expecting to see only rafters. His first thought upon looking up was, "<em>Those are <em>_**definitely **__not rafters!"_ Severus found himself looking up at a breathtaking, jet black night sky. The sky was littered with thousands of the brightest stars he had ever seen. There was only one other time he had seen stars this bright…

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><p>*<em>Flashback*<em>

_Severus lay in the grass, his arms and legs spread wide as if he was inviting the sky to hug him. A light breeze stirred the grass around him and placed cool kisses on his cheeks. His eyes gazed up at the vast expanse of stars above him. He and Lily had been camping out in the field near Lily's house. He had been showing her the constellations. "Sev, look! It's a shooting star!" His eyes traced the path of the ball of light with his eyes. "Make a wish!" Lily cried, excitedly. He thought of all the things he didn't have that he could wish for. A father that loved him, more friends, a nicer home…. He glanced at Lily who had her eyes squeezed shut and her nose all scrunched up like it always was when she was concentrating hard on something. He knew what he wanted…He wanted to be with Lily, to be at her side always. He shut his eyes and focused…Please, please, __**please! **__ He chanted to himself. "Sev, what'd you wish for?" she asked. Her tone was full of great interest and curiosity. "I can't tell you!" He said playfully. "Why not?" She pouted. "Because then it won't come true!" Lily put on her best puppy face and looked at Sev with wide, begging green eyes. "Pretty please…." Sev could deal with Petunia, he could stand up to his father, but not even he could stand strong with those almond shaped eyes looking at him that way. He caved. "Oh alright, but you have to tell me your wish too." She nodded giving him an expectant smile. "I wished to we would always be friends." Her smile widened. "I wished for the exact same thing!" He grinned, an unusually warm, fuzzy feeling settled in his stomach. "Bye Sev! I've got to get home now!" She leaned over and placed a light peck on his cheek and disappeared into the night. He was too stunned to even wave. He sat there for nearly an hour, grinning like a fool, trying to remember his own name. He decided that night that he really loved stars._

_*End Flashback*_

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><p>He was jarred from his memory by the students behind him as the small group of first years shuffled towards the front of the Great Hall. Sev's eyes came to rest on a worn looking hat sitting upon a chair. Somehow seeing the hat made him feel very alone, Lily appeared to be further away then she was a second ago. He stepped closer to her, hoping the feeling would go away.<p>

Professor McGonogall began to call student the students' names from a roll of parchment in her hand.

_Evans, Lily_

Lily gave his hand a final squeeze before stepping forward and sitting on the chair. McGonogall placed the hat on her head. It spoke quietly for a moment. Once, the hat whispered something to her and she glanced at him. The hat smiled slightly. _"Better be….Gryffindor!" _The Gryffindor table erupted in cheers and shouts. Lily gave Sev an encouraging smile before skipping to the Gryffindor table. The other Gryffindors welcomed the new member warmly, all of them excited to have a new addition to their house.

As Severus watched, the Hat sorted the students. He saw the boy from the train, James Potter, run towards the Gryffindor table. Finally, he heard his name.

"_Snape, Severus."_

He slowly approached the podium. The Hat was lowered onto his head. _Ah! Quite an intelligent one we have here! Lots of talent, loyalty to those you care about…Hmmm, rather difficult one you are. Not enough courage for Gryffindor I'm afraid, you're definitely not a Hufflepuff, Slytherin seems to be a highly probable idea. _Sev had heard about the deep hate between Slytherin and Gryffindor and was sure that going to Slytherin would be a problem in his friendship with Lily. _I understand your dilemma, young man. Very well…_The Hat spoke aloud now. "_Better be…Ravenclaw!" _The Hat quickly whispered to Severus. _Ravenclaws and Gryffindors make excellent friends. _Sev couldn't help but smile gratefully at this.

He nearly skipped to the Ravenclaw table, sitting down on the wooden bench with his new classmates. He glanced at the Gryffindor table. Lily saw him looking and waved at him, grinning madly.

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><p>The Headmaster tapped his spoon on a glass, emitting a bell-like sound, to get the students attention. He smiled at the students, his eye twinkling. Severus couldn't ignore the slight tug at the very back of his mind, <em>he recognized that twinkle.<em> Despite only knowing the man for a minute or so, Severus felt that this was a man he could trust. Someone who would listen without judging him. He hoped to speak to Headmaster Dumbledore sometime soon and get better acquainted.

The rest of dinner went without any hitch whatsoever. Dumbledore had made food appear on all the tables. It was the most scrumptious meal of his entire life! He chatted with several students around him, asking the older ones questions. He recognized Madison, the prefect from the platform, sitting a few seats down from him, talking to her friends.

When dinner was over, the students were sent off to their dormitories. A prefect led the new Ravenclaws to the common room. The Ravenclaw common room was decorated in deep sapphire and bronze. The Ravenclaws resided in Ravenclaw tower so the steps wore him out. The entrance to the common room was not a password like the other houses. Ravenclaws had to answer a riddle to get in.

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><p>The prefect pointed them to their dorms. The most students went directly to their common rooms to get some sleep. Severus, however, plopped down on one of the deep blue chairs and pulled a book out of the pocket of his robes. He read for a while but soon his eyelids began to droop. He made his way to his dorm. His dorm mates had left him the corner bed. It was a nice bed, much nicer than any that he'd ever slept on. He noticed his trunk and his robes for the next day laid on top. He pulled on his pajamas and climbed into bed. Within seconds, Severus was sound asleep, worn out from his long day of excitement.<p>

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><p>AN: Soooooo what'd you think? I kinda liked writing this chap! I hoped you liked reading it! Please leave me reviews! I really need the encouragement. Besides, the more reviews I get...the more likely I am to update..(bribe, bribe!) So I have this idea for a little companion piece for this story. So it will be about the sorting hat and what it says to each individual person and their sorting fears and stuff. Good idea? Yes? No? PM me if you want me to do this along with the name of a character.

Thanks guys! You're the best! And if I don't update for a really looong time. Blame High School...not me. ;-)


	7. Good Morning!

A/N: Whats this? An update? COULD IT BE! Ok I bet nobody even remembers this story! Hehe *guiltily checks when last update was* SEPTEMBER? WHAT? Wow...that took me a while...But hey! What can I say! High school is hard! So yeah i would suggest rereading the other chaps first in case you have no idea what is going on...Please review and I hopefully won't take nearly as long to update...I might try over spring break. Definitely not this coming weekend because THE HUNGER GAMES IS COMING OUT! SO EXCITED! And I haven't even finished the book! haha Ok well SUPER SUPER SORRY for the freakishly long wait!

Disclaimer: I'm not even going to do this again...

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><p>Severus awoke the next morning. His eyes, still blurred with sleep, squinted at the ceiling. It appeared to be made of blue velvet. Blue, blue, blue, with a flash of bronze, was all his sleepy eyes could make out. Just one very blue blur. He shut his eyes and sank back down onto his pillow. Then he felt a slight weight on his head and something pointy digging into his scalp. <em>Huh? <em>

_Hoo..._The weight vibrated ever so slightly at the sound. _Hoooo..._It was louder that time. He felt something hovering over his face. _HOOOOOOO..._Severus's eyes popped open. There, hovering right over his face was a pair of large yellowish eyes. "Gah!" he gasped in surprise. _Well, what do you know,_ _there is a bird on my head. That's a first..._ He was indeed staring into the eyes of a rather large, scruffy brown owl. The creature hooted again loudly. HOOOOOO!

Then Sev heard a swooshing sound and what was just a dark, blue cave was flooded with brilliant, blinding sunlight. "Archimedes!" a loud voice exclaimed. Severus blinked in the dazzling morning sunlight at the figure beside his bed. The owl gave a little hoot and flapped off of Sev and onto the boy's shoulder. "Bad owl!" he scolded the bird. He was roughly Sev's height, with light brown hair and deep sapphire eyes. "So sorry about that...crazy bird! I'm used to him being my alarm clock but I would imagine that probably freaked you out a bit. I'm Taran, by the way. I'm in this dorm too." Despite the rude awakening, Sev put on a slight smile so the boy wouldn't feel bad. "Don't worry about it! No harm done. I'm Severus Snape. You can call me Sev if you want to," he said. "Pleasure to meet you Sev! This goofball here is Archimedes," he said gesturing to the bird on his shoulder, which was hooting softly and staring at Sev.

Severus took the opportunity to take in the dorm room. It had been too dark the night before to see what it looked like and he had been too tired to look anyway. The beds were deep blue trimmed in bronze. They all had velvety drapes and a small side table beside them. In the center of the room was what appeared to be a larger heater. At the foot of each bed was a trunk containing each boy's belongings. Severus stretched and scratched his head, wincing slightly when his nail met the place when Archimedes talons had poked him. He rubbed the spot gingerly. "Seems that Archie the alarm clock has claimed another victim," a voice said. Sev turned to see a boy with honey blond hair and twinkling brown eyes smirking. "Bloody bird nearly pecked my eyes out this morning. Talk about a rude awakening," he said. Taran rolled his eyes but smiled, "Nearly pecked your eyes out? Good, that means I'm training him well." The blond boy chuckled and walked up to Sev. "I'm Logan," he said, extending his hand to Sev. Sev shook it and smiled, "I'm Severus Snape, you can call me Sev." "Good to meet you Sev. I'm glad I have someone else who'll support my idea of serving Taran's bloody chicken in the Great Hall for dinner," he grinned and winked at Sev. "Hey!" Taran yelped indignantly, making all three boys laugh.

After Sev showered and dressed in his brand new robes, he grabbed his bag and headed down the stairs to the common room. He took a quick sweep of the room with his eyes. He noted the soft, blue chairs by the fireplace that he sat in last night to read. The atmosphere was cozy, quiet and would probably be good for studying. He noted the book-laden shelves and study tables around the walls. He was going to feel quite at home here.

"Hey Sev, come on, we're heading to breakfast!" Taran called from the other side of the common room. "Coming!" he called back, and hurried after them.

Sev ate quickly, eager to start his first day. "Slow down mate!" Taran exclaimed, as Sev choked slightly on a bit of the toast he had practically inhaled. Logan snickered, "yeah Sev, what's the big hurry?" "Nothing," he stuttered, "just excited for classes, that's all." _Lie. He knew exactly what he wanted to see and it wasn't his classes...Lily._

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><p>After breakfast, the three boys headed out into the hall. Lucky for them, they had nearly all of their classes together. They began threading themselves through the crowded hallways, jam packed with confused students. Suddenly, Sev saw a flash of red hair near the end of the hall. <em>Lily. <em> He sped up, forcing Logan and Taran to jog to keep up. Finally catching up to her, he caught her arm. "Lily!"

She whirled around to face him. "SEV!" she cried happily. "I've been looking everywhere for you!" She hugged him quickly.

_She had? Of course she had silly! She's your best friend for Merlin's sake!_

Standing a few feet away, Taran and Logan wore slight smirks as they watched their new friend blush when the red haired girl hugged him. "Dang he's fast..." Logan muttered quietly. "We've been at this school for what...like less than twenty four hours and he's already got a girl!" "And you thought you were the charming one..." Taran smirked. "I'll bet you a sickle that he'll walk back over here and have completely forgotten that we exist," Logan said, grinning. "You're on," said Taran and they shook on it.

Sev, completely unaware that his new friends were already placing bets on him and Lily, had been comparing his schedule to Lily's. They had Potion's, Charms, History of Magic and Herbology together. He silently cheered that they had so many classes together. _What luck!_ A girl with jet black hair came up and tugged on Lily's sleeve. "Come on Lily! We don't want to be late!" She gave me an apologetic look and turned to leave. Sev watched her go and about halfway down the hall she turned and waved back at him. He sighed softly to himself, but the sound was lost in a bout of loud snickering coming from behind him. He jumped at the noise and turned around to see Taran and Logan doubled over from laughter. He glared at the pair until Taran regained enough composure to choke out, "So who's your little friend there Sev?" Logan waggled his eyebrows, "Yeah Sev, you'll have to introduce us later." Severus grimaced slightly. _Oh great, Lily will introduce me to her lovely, well mannered new friends and all I'll have to show for myself is a babbling, bumbling band of baboons! Spectacular._.._just spectacular._ He rolled his eyes at the pair of them, but his expression softened. "It's too hard to stay mad at such complete, utter idiots so you two are saved from my wrath...but just this once!" He laughed even as he was saying it and the other two joined in. "We best calm down and head to class. With all our laughing, these people must think we're drunk..." Taran said. "Yeah!" Logan chimed in, "Wouldn't want them to be after my firewhiskey stash already!" The group laughed as they headed down the hall to begin their first day at Hogwarts.

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><p>AN:

So who enjoyed my sad attempts at humor! Anyone? Anyone? Yeah I didn't think so... I hope y'all liked the new characters! They will obviously be recurring characters now! YAY! PLOT DEVELOPMENT!

So leave reviews so I'll be happy! and so I won't take 6 months to update again! :) Love y'all! And thanks to those who actually do remember and stick with this story! Bear with me! I'm working on it!


	8. Making Friends

A/N: Hi everybody! I know probably NONE of you even remember me or this story! Last update...was March...I am officially a terrible person. I'm so sosososososososososo sorry! School and life and laziness have all gotten in the way! Plus, I've really lost most of my original inspiration for this story. I'm having such issues with what to DO with these people in the time in between when they arrive at Hogwarts and like 4th year when we can get into all the Romantic awesomeness! I'm not gonna lie I'm in this for the relationships, and 11 year olds can't really have relationships! That is a huge problem! I have literally just been sitting making up OCs for days. I now have a special someone for everyone! YAY! I kind of love some of my OCs a little too much, so you guys will be getting alot of other little subplot relationships between other characters besides Lily and Sev. I really could use any ideas you guys have of what to do with these guys in their in between years. I'm not going to tell you that I'll update more often because that'll end up being a big fat LIE! I'm also going to try some POV switching and see how that goes. I really want to thank any of you that come back after all this time to read and review. Also I want to thank the most recent reviewers/followers/favoriters. You guys made me want to write more for you. I want to thank in particular chellehill for being one of those awesome people who followed/favorited the story, followed/favorited me as an author AND left a review. That made me really want to get in here an write, so this chap is dedicated to you, chellehill, if you're reading, thank you! Aaaaaand that awkward moment when the author's note is longer than the chapter...on with the update! Oh and disclaimer: I don't own, JKR does.

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><p>Lily POV<p>

When she first arrived, she had been so excited that she forgot to be nervous...until the Sorting Hat had directed her away from the only person she knew in this whole new magical world. Then she had a mini, internal panic attack. Sev was the one who had showed her this world. Everything she knew about magic, he had shown her. But a few minutes after she sat at the Gryffindor table, a newly sorted girl named Mary MacDonald asked if she could sit with her. Of course, Lily agreed. Shortly after, another girl named Marlene plopped down beside Lily.

"Hey there! I'm Marlene McKinnon," she introduced herself. "And I'm Mary MacDonald," the first girl said. Lily smiled shyly at the two, "I'm Lily, Lily Evans." Her attention was the suddenly redirected to the Hat and the black haired boy sitting under it. She recognized him from the train...James Potter.

"Better be...GRYIFFINDOR!" the Hat shouted. The boy jumped up with a happy yell and ran towards her table. He high-fived a handsome boy with black hair slightly longer than his own, ginning wildly, "We did it Sirius!" He plopped himself between the boy called Sirius and a boy with sandy blond hair. Realizing that he had practically just sat on the poor guy beside him, James turned and apologized. He introduced himself and cracked a joke that made the sandy haired boy smile slightly. Lily could hear the boy introduce himself as Remus Lupin. James also introduced himself to the boy across from Remus, who introduced himself as Peter Pettigrew. Lily was then suddenly distracted from observing the fastest friend maker she'd ever seen, by hearing Sev's name called out.

She crossed her fingers and silently prayed that Sev would be with her. She wasn't quite sure how she would survive this strange, new world without him right by her side. She had also heard about a strong rivalry between her house and Slytherin house, so she silently pleaded that Sev would not end up in Slytherin house. Marlene, noticing her nervousness, poked her slightly, causing her to jump. "A bit edgy are we? That a friend of yours?" she gestured to Sev, sitting with the oversized hat perched on his black hair. "Yes, he's my best friend. We live near each other back home and I'd be totally lost here without my only friend," Lily answered. Marlene gave her hand a gentle squeeze, "Don't worry about it! Even if he isn't sorted with us, you still have me and Mary here. We're going to be your new other best friends!" Lily smiled at Marlene gratefully, "Thanks." The Sorting Hat spent a little longer considering Sev than most of the other students, but it finally announced its decision. "Better be Ravenclaw!" it cried. Mary leaned across the table, "I hear that Ravenclaws and Gryffindors get along really well! And from what I heard about the schedules this year, I think there will be a lot of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor mixed classes!" Lily sighed in relief, feeling enormously better. She looked up, caught Sev's eye and grinned at him. _Surely he must be having similar worries about being separated._ She waved, hoping to give him some reassurance.

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><p>Later that evening, Lily, Marlene, Mary, and a girl called Emmeline Vance who had joined their small group, made their way with the rest of their housemates to Gryffindor Tower. The girls were thrilled to find that they were roommates. They settled into their dormitory and talked until they fell asleep. As Lily fell asleep in her new bed, she smiled, feeling the relief that her new friends brought. Deep down it was more than just new school, first day jitters. Lily was always fearful of situations where she had to make new friends. She was truly afraid of rejection as even her own sister had thought she was a "freak." Sev had been the only true friend she had, the only one who accepted her true self. But now, she felt she truly belonged somewhere.<p>

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><p>Her first day of classes was a blur. She had most all of them with Marlene, Mary, and Emmeline. The boy from the train, James Potter, and his newly formed group of friends seemed to share most of her classes as well. She sat near him in one or two and he'd throw her the occasional friendly smile. But best of all, Sev shared nearly every single class with her! They didn't sit together in every class, as she occasionally sat with Marlene, and he with one of his new friends. Honestly, it made her quite happy when he sat with one of the other boys. She knew Sev was quiet, that she was his only real friend throughout his childhood, and that he sometimes struggled with making friends. So she was delighted when she saw him sitting contentedly beside one of his new roommates. She hoped to meet them soon, and wanted to introduce Sev to her new roommates as well. After dinner that evening, she greeted him outside the Great Hall with a warm hug. "How was your day, Sev?" "It was actually one of the best days of my life, yours?" "Wonderful!" she grinned at him. "Hey Sev, even though I see you in like every class, and at meals and stuff, I want to meet up this weekend. Saturday, maybe. You bring your friends, I'll bring mine, I think we should all be properly introduced, don't you think?" Though he hesitated slightly, he smiled, "That's a great idea Lily!" She gave him one last goodnight hug and went off to Gryffindor tower, wearing a grin packed with excitement. She couldn't wait for Saturday.<p>

Near skipping around the corner, lost in excited thought, Lily wasn't prepared to run smack dab into a person. Both Lily and the stranger went sprawling to the stone floor with a pair of light thuds. "Oh I'm so sorry, how clumsy of me!" the girl pushed herself from the ground and extended a hand to Lily. "No no, I wasn't paying attention," Lily replied. The girl helped Lily to her feet, and handed her the book she had dropped. "I'm Kate. Kate Rowan, Ravenclaw. You're Lily aren't you?" she said with a warm smile. Lily could tell that Kate was one of those girls who would grown up to be absolutely gorgeous without ever trying. She had dark brown, wavy hair, and ever so slightly tanned skin with the apples of her cheeks tinted the palest pink with the last remnants of summer sun's kiss. Her smile was warm, and kind. Her eyes were a stunning, deep green wrought with a glint that could only mask a wise, clever soul. Kate was tall, slim, and walked with a calm, confidant stride that Lily immediately envied. But in all her beauty, she could see that Kate was truly humble and kind. "I'm Lily Evans, Gryffindor." The pair ended up wandering the halls, together, deep in comfortable, friendly conversation. By the end, the pair ended up in front of the Fat Lady portrait. "Lily it was so nice to meet you! I've seen you in a few of my classes; I hope we become great friends!" Lily grinned widely, "I hope so too!" As Kate turned to leave, Lily called out to her, struck by a sudden inspiration. "Hey Kate, a friend of mine and I are bringing our new friends to introduce to each other on Saturday. I'm bringing my roommates, and my best friend Severus is bringing his. Would you like to come? You're welcome to bring your friends too! Sev is a Ravenclaw too by the way." Kate pondered her proposition for a moment before cheerfully replying, "I would love to Lily! I'll ask my roommates as well. This'll be so much fun!" Kate waved one last goodbye and set off for her common room. Lily couldn't believe it. She felt miles away from the girl who was afraid to talk to people because she thought they'd think her a "freak."She had made _four_ friends in a mere two days in this new place! _Now that's what I call magic!_

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><p>Sev POV<p>

Sev couldn't wait for Saturday to come! A whole afternoon with Lily...and a bunch of other friends but still LILY! Walking into his dorm room, Sev ran straight into Logan and Taran who were stopped dead in the doorway, staring into the dorm. Sev craned his neck to get a peek where they were staring. There, on the fourth bed in their room, sat a boy with long white-blond hair. He was arranging a curious array of objects, books, and trinkets around his nightstand and bit of the room. He wore a necklace with an odd-looking, triangular talisman on it. Logan cleared his throat lightly, startling the boy slightly, and interrupting his scurrying and decorating. "Oh hello there, you must be my new roommates. Sorry I didn't introduce myself last night, I fell asleep early. Oh I have gifts for you by the way!" He scurried to his trunk and pulled out three long pieces of cord with small objects hanging from them. He placed one around each boy's neck. Sev studied his more closely. "Why they're Butterbeer corks," Taran said, turning one around in his fingers. "Yes thank you for the...er...lovely...gifts, but what exactly are they?" Logan asked, ever the inquisitive Ravenclaw. "Why they're for keeping the nargles away of course!" The odd boy laughed. Logan looked as though he wanted to say something else, but couldn't seem to find the right words to respond to a statement like that, so he simply nodded slightly in thanks. Sev approached the boy and offered his hand for a handshake, "Thanks for the gift, I'm Severus Snape, you may call me Sev. This is Taran, and that's Logan. What's your name?" The boy grinned widely and took Sev's outstretched hand.

"Xenophillius Lovegood, at your service."

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><p>AN: Well how was that for a little twist! Luna's dear daddy is Sev's roommate! What do you know! Kate, who was introduced earlier, will become a very major character, just a heads up. If anyone's interested, I have a few pics of what I imagine Kate looks like, I also have Logan, and one other OC what will be introduced hopefully in the next chapter. If anyone is interested in the pics, tell me and I'll put them on my profile, of put a link in the next chap. I hope to update soon, but I'm heading into exam week...so I may or may not survive. My chances don't look too good at the moment...So please review, request, tell me your ideas! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!3 Love you all!

~Rin~


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